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Irish Government must ratify the Marrakesh Treaty as a matter of urgency - Lynn Boylan MEP

Speaking after the European Parliament Employment and Social Affairs Committee voted in favour of two reports relating to the Marrakesh Treaty, Lynn Boylan called on the Irish Government to ratify the Treaty as a matter of urgency.

MEP Boylan said:

“The “Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works for Persons Who Are Blind, Visually Impaired or Otherwise Print Disabled” forms part of the body of international copyright treaties administered by World Intellectual Property Organisation. It has a clear humanitarian and social development dimension as the treaty was negotiated to create a set of mandatory limitations and exceptions of published works for the benefit of the blind, visually impaired, and otherwise print disabled.

“The Treaty sets forth standards for limitations and exceptions to facilitate access to accessible format works. It will also permit cross-border sharing of these accessible formats, allowing countries to avoid unnecessary duplication of efforts and resources in the creation of these accessible works.

“This afternoon the EMPL committee voted in favour of two strong, rights based opinions on the Marrakesh Treaty. It is hoped that this will be an impetus for those countries who have not yet ratified the treaty to do so.

“The EU should be in the forefront when it comes to facilitating the lives for people with disabilities. Therefore, it is deeply upsetting to see some Member States without coherent plans in place to ratify the Marrakesh Treaty.

“Ireland signed up to the Marrakesh Treaty in 2014, what is now needed is for the Government to make concrete plans to ratify the Treaty. I will add that this should also be accompanied with the ratification of the “Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities”.

“Disabled citizens cannot continuously have their rights side-lined by the state, that is why I am calling for the ratification of the Marrakesh Treaty and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, as a matter of urgency."